The shadow of Khamenei
Saturday 09/March/2019 - 02:06 PM
Mahmoud Mohammadi
Ibrahim Raeisi: The man at the head of Iranian
judiciary
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appointed Ibrahim Raeisi as
head of the judiciary and called on him to start a strong phase in line with
the second step on the path of the revolution, the IRNA news agency reported.
Khamenei explained that the reason for choosing Raeisi for this post is due to
his judicial diligence, knowledge, experience and efficiency. He has long
experience in the judiciary and knows all its angles.
Man of Death
He was born in 1961 to a religious family in the northeastern city of Mashhad.
He lost his father when he was five years old. After completing his primary
education, he joined the scientific estate at Mashhad before moving to the city
of Qom, where he received his studies at the Haqqani school, which has graduates
of the most hardline clerics in the current regime, headed by Khamenei.
Raeisi came into the Iranian judiciary just a few years after the Khomeinist
revolution overthrew former Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979. He
took over the post of public prosecutor in Hamadan a year later, and stayed in
that position for five years. Then, he became Assistant to the Iranian Attorney
General.
He was a member and a judge in the death committees that was formed on the
basis of a fatwa issued by former Iranian leader Khomeini. The death committees
executed 30,000 opponents in 1988 and one of the most prominent Iranian
officials on European sanctions list for years for extensive human rights
violations.
Raeisi’s star has emerged since the Iranian leader appointed him in March 2016
as the custodian of the holy shrine, which is the supervisor of the Astan Qods
Radavi Foundation, which runs the endowments of the shrine of Imam Ali bin
Musa.
Before becoming the head of the judiciary, he held three positions under the
direct order of Khamenei, a member of the Assembly of Experts and deputy
general of the Special Clerics' Court.
